What do Christmas trees, Motivation and Jesus have in Common?

I was sitting in my front room watching my husband build a fire and thinking about my plans for the day. Near the front window stood one of the two Christmas trees I still hadn't taken down. I had stopped turning them on after the Epiphany and they'd just become an unnoticed part of our home. I knew they were there, I knew I needed to take them down, yet somehow I'd managed to take my eyes and mind off of them even though they stood there waiting. That is when I realized what Christmas trees, motivation and Jesus all have in common. All three wait patiently for me to do my part.

People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily.
-- Zig Ziglar

All good things in life take effort and motivation is one of them. If you are sitting there waiting for the motivation to come so that you can make a positive change in yourself - STOP waiting! Decide WHY you want to change, inscribe it on your heart and then ACT. Your motivation will ebb and flow but the reason you want it will always be with you. I tell myself when my motivation is low that no one always feels motivated but successful people do it anyway!

So how is Jesus like my Christmas trees and Motivation?

Even a studied and devoted Christian can become complacent. We get caught up in worldly things - our day to day lives - and we see Jesus standing there like my Christmas trees and motivation. Standing there waiting. He is ever present in our homes and our lives waiting there for us to do our part. We have to stop walking past Him, barely acknowledging His presence, thinking that we are doing enough because we believe He is there. There is more to faith than belief. Everyday I learn more about this. Our relationship with God can't be one-sided. Healthy relationships are formed when both participants contribute. God has amazing plans for us, but again, ALL good things take effort. Ask God today to guide you on His path and then get up and walk with Him.

“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?  My hope is in you." Psalm 39:7  

 

Motivation

For those of you who have been following this blog you know that I've been on we'll say a journey to become the person I know I can be. I've seen myself for a while as lazy, fat, unmotivated and unimportant. I stared this blog in an effort to "find myself" and with life as it is. the good and the bad, its been in the back of my mind but rarely on my to do list to keep this blog going.

If you haven't heard I have started the Body Bi Vi 90 day health challenge. I am in awe daily and what I have learned about myself in just 4 short weeks of being on this challenge. I am so moved and so excited and I hope to share this feeling with as many people as I can. I won't go into details about the Challenge today but if you are interested please feel free to contact me and check out my website. http://jenniferrburgess.myvi.net/

 Today lets talk about motivation and staying on track...

I have found that one of the BEST things about this Challenge is the support group that you create yourself with the refer 3 get your next month Free. Its completely awesome to get such a great quality product for free but more so than that the gathering of people with the same goals makes me feel more motivated and accountable.

I've been making an effort to surround myself with little motivations. My thoughts, words, actions and activities and the people I choose to spend time with have to be nourishing. We so easily fall into the habit of listening to and talking about negative topics. We get sucked in to watching and reading trash via media. We even create a pattern of complaining and gossiping with our family and friends. And we assume that we are enjoying the entertainment and the conversation - but garbage in...garbage out. Negativity spreads like disease if you don't keep it in check.

But positivity can spread too! Here's what works for me...

1. Prayer - I personally do all things with God's guidance.
2. Drop the toxic friends...This isn't always easy and doesn't necessarily mean you have to "break up" with these people. Just be on guard - limit time together if needed and work hard to keep interactions and communication positive. I'm lucky enough to have started this a while back! I choose friends much more wisely these days.
3. Social Media - Spread Motivation and Encouragement online. Looking for quotes and images that are positive will lift you up too and then you can share that with your friends.
4. Celebrate little achievements and keep goals in mind -
There are days when I'm feeling lazy, hungry or just down right grumpy. On these days remember the little things that add up. Every inch dropped when the scales don't move. Feeling a little more comfortable in those jeans than last week. Drinking water when you really wanted soda. All these things are achievements and when you celebrate these it becomes easier to keep your eyes on the big picture.
5. Remember your "Why"-
If you don't know your WHY spend time today figuring it out. When all else fails you can look to your reasons for setting the goals in the first place. What got you motivated to begin can see you through.




Seek the lofty by reading, hearing and seeing great work at some moment every day. ~Thornton Wilder

Peeling Apples

I can peel an apple without lifting the knife or breaking the skin. I wanted to learn how and I practiced and I figured it out. And yet today I sit here beating myself up because I'm lacking in motivation. There is so much that can be done and so much that has to be done. I find myself doing a little and then losing interest. This is a pattern of mine that I have in many aspects of my life. I'm trying to get out of the always half-hearted habit. So today when I peeled myself the apple you see above I thought about setting goals, trying hard and achieving and why its so hard for me. And I end up back where I always end up...irritable and not happy with myself. Then not only do I not want to be around myself, no one else does either!

The issue is not if I am able to work hard and achieve it is whether I am willing. I realize that I work plenty hard on things that truly interest me. I taught myself to peel that apple and if you've never tried that, it isn't as easy as it looks. So here's the problem...I don't know what interests me and I'm not interested in some things that really should be done.

How to motivate myself to do the mundane so that I'll feel good enough about myself to try out some new interests??

1. Stay away from technology - the computer and mobile phone is VERY distracting and encourages my laziness.
2. Enlist the help of the children
3. Talk to myself nicely - stop saying things like; "I just don't want to" and "I don't have the energy"and REALLY stop saying things like; "I'm so lazy," "My family deserves better."
4. Just do it! Turn on the music and get to work. 

I want to be the best for my husband and my children but I really want to be the best for myself. Part of that is doing things like keeping a clean and organized house and preparing meals that nourish me and my family. I should do these things with pride but I readily admit that I don't like to. But I will. I'm going to continue to work on my motivation to do the things that need to be done. I'm sure that in doing so I will eventually start finding my personal interests and motivations.


Things aren't always easy, nor should they be. I will peel away the years of settling for the easy things and missing out on the pride that comes from completing tasks and challenges. Just like my attempts in learning to peel an apple. If I mess up I will try again until more times than not I do it with ease.

I'd love to hear how you stay motivated to do the day to day things that need to be done?